Here is an update video with Bryan Henderson from Sydney, Australia. We are blessed to support the Henderson family as they have helped plant Anchor Church in Sydney, Australia. For more information about Anchor Church visit http://anchorchurch.com.au. Let's continue to be praying for them and the Anchor Church family and we hope you enjoy this video getting to know Bryan a little better.
God is continuing to build and bless the House of Blessing Orphanage in Mexico! You can read the latest update from Jason and hear more about the new children who have come to live with them, their summer adventures, and the plans for the new school year below.
Back to school is in full effect here at the Casa. The children started school last week and so far so good. Wow, it was a bit crazy getting 13 children (including our daughter) prepped and ready for school. But, with our great staff and a lot of work, everything fell into place and the kids are loving the new school year. We have 4 kids in Jr. High, 7 kids in elementary and 2 in kindergarten. Our staff was just as excited as the kids, for school to start because now we have 8 hours of peace and quiet each day. I do miss the kids, but I too am enjoying the quietness. Now I know why my mom was so excited all those years for the 5 of us kids to start school.
We had quite the busy summer, and time FLEW by. Our Casa family continues to change and grow constantly. At the beginning of summer, I think we had 14 kids. Most of the children were able to spend part of their summer vacation with their mom's and extended family. Overall, the kids enjoyed their time. It is usually a challenge when kids come back from vacation because they are use to the freedom and lack of rules with their family. However, for the most part, the kids have adjusted just fine being back at the orphanage.
Mary, the mother of Delia, Zuley and Victoria, also went to spend time with her sister in Chihuahua city. We were really hoping and praying that they would come back to the orphanage by school time, however, they decided to stay in Chihuahua. There are mixed feelings and emotions about this. Obviously it is hard when children leave, but, in this case, Mary has found a job and will be living with her sister. We are very thankful for the time the Lord allowed us to minister to this sweet mother and her girls. Please continue to pray for them!
We also had a surge of new children come to the orphanage. This past week, 3 new precious kids joined our family. Natalia (age 6) and Valeria (age 5) came to the orphanage 6 days ago. Both of their moms live locally here in Bachiniva, but need to travel to try to search for work. They were wanting the girls to get a chance to go to school, but couldn't do that on their own. These two girls are beautiful and have already been a blessing thus far. Valeria is in the same class as our daughter Ayantu and already they are best friends.
This past Sunday, another young boy named Osvaldo (age 10) joined our family. Osvaldo's mother works locally here at the nursing home. It's a blessing that she has a steady job, however, she works anywhere from 60-70 hours a week. Whether its the morning shift or graveyard shift, Maria works constantly which forces Osvaldo to be home alone most of the day. We were able to enroll Osvaldo in school and he is doing great. He is a very nice and polite young man. He has already become friends with the boys here at the orphanage and is adjusting very well!
Not only were we busy with children coming and going, but also with activities and missions teams. This summer we were able to host 2 different missions teams. Our first group consisted of 16 individuals from Horizon Christian Fellowship and Immanuel Christian School, both located in El Paso. Then earlier this month, we hosted 8 individuals from Cottage Grove Calvary in Oregon. Both teams did an amazing job loving on the children, serving, encouraging and working hard. The focus for both teams was laying the foundation and plumbing for our new offices. We are SO exited to have these as it will free up space and allow for further growth.
I had the chance again, to travel back to Seattle for our annual golf invitational. This year we had 81 golfers come out for an incredible day and we raised over $6,000. I was absolutely amazed and had an incredible time with so many people supporting the ministry!
and continues to show that to me every single day. Most recently, it has been in His financial provision. I am absolutely amazed at the individuals, families, churches, businesses and even people I've never met, who give to the orphanage. When Paul encouraged us that God would supply all our needs, he was speaking wonderful truths. Anytime we've been in need of something, be that a vehicle, clothes, school uniforms and supplies, washing machine, utility bills, food, etc for our ever growing family, GOD HAS PROVIDED. He has put it on the hearts of so many individuals who tirelessly give, pray and support us. To all of you, we thank you from the bottom of our heart. Truly, we could not do this without your help and support!
{This post is an excerpt from my devotional ebook Perspective Reset: 28 readings and meditations from the Psalms. The devotional is FREE to all of my newsletter subscribers and I would love for you to download it. Click HERE to subscribe and download the ebook. You can also listen to a recent message on Psalm 23 taught by Pastor Daniel Williams HERE. }
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:1-6
If you’re like me, you’ve probably picked up this journal because you’re in desperate need of a perspective reset. You’re drowning in emotion. You’re finding your attitude places that you don’t like and that may even scare you. And if you are like me, this Psalm speaks straight to that place you desperately want to be in. You want to believe that these truths are for you. You want to be able to say these words with confidence, but so often fear overcomes your faith.
And I think that is why this famous Psalm has always held an ominous undertone for me. As I read, my faith wavers... "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (v 4)
Every time I read these words, I feel their weight pressing into my soul. And I hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit asking me, “Will you truly fear no evil? Will you allow My rod and staff to comfort you? Will believe, even in the darkest moments, that the shining joys of the rest of this Psalm are for you?”
For this Psalm to ring deeply true in our hearts we have to first humble ourselves to desire the guiding and tending hand of the Shepherd in our lives, and then we have to believe that He is enough.
And my faith wavers so easily... Will He really restore my soul? Will the pastures actually be green and the waters really be still? Will goodness and mercy truly follow me all the days of my life?
And my faith wavers... But I need to remember that these truths about God won’t change, but my perspective on them will. My heart will waver and my faith will shake, but God is unchanging. So I have to choose to preach these truths to my heart, instead of letting my feelings dictate my faith in them. Because God’s Word isn’t a book to be judged and weighed and debated based on our understanding and feelings. It is truth that is intended to penetrate and change our hearts.
So come to today’s text willing to be changed by it. Let it challenge what you feel, because what you feel might not be true. Allow yourself to be humbled and restored in the face of these Words from the Giver of life.
Verses to Meditate On Today: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” Psalm 23:1,3
{Take some time to pray and ask God to help you to intimately believe these truths for yourself. Then read this Psalm aloud. One time. Twenty times. As many times as it takes for the truths to sink deep into your soul. Preach these words to yourself. Claim them as your own. Read them aloud until you can only stop and praise God for His goodness and care and tender shepherding toward you.}
Matthew 6 is a chapter FULL of assumptions. By assumptions, I mean that when Jesus is teaching, He is not saying that giving, praying, fasting, spending, and living are optional. Far from it! He is assuming that you will do all of these things, and then He tells you how to do them well.
The fifth, and last, of these assumptions is found in verses 25-34.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
It’s as if this last section is meant to be a summary of the other 4. Jesus has spoken on giving, praying, fasting, spending, and now He gets to His final point, which is telling us how to live life well. These other things are actions within our lives, but this final piece of instruction comes to be a guide for all of life in general.
Jesus tells us the secret to living life well by giving us one thing we should not do and then one thing we should do. Keep in mind that both of these things are in light of the other 4. We have been told to do everything for God, not for people, and to live a life surrendered to what God would have us do with our time and money. Now we will see in what manner we should live all of our life:
Jesus tells us clearly that to live life well we need to “not be anxious about our life.” He goes on to not only correct our anxiousness, but He even gives us valid reasons why anxiousness is useless. He reminds us that the things we are truly anxious about are outside of our control. But rather than leave us there, He gives us sympathy and comfort, reminding us that we are important to God.
Jesus paints a picture of God’s care for the animals and for fields of flowers, then reminds us: God loves us even more. And if God, Who takes care of so many of these things all over the world, loves us even more than they - why should we worry?
He comforts our worry by reminding us of the simplicity of life. God knows we need food, water, clothing, and He will always provide these things for us. Jesus strips away our superficial desires for the newest gadget or popular clothing style, and He reminds us that we shouldn't even be concerned about those things.
To followup His rebuke of anxiousness, Jesus pushes us towards the good and opposite response: Pursuing the Kingdom of God. Here, Jesus is telling us that when you are willing to loose the anxiousness of your own life situations, you are then free to pursue the Kingdom of God. Simply put, the Kingdom of God is anywhere God’s rule and reign are played out in real life. Similar to how 'home is where the heart is', the Kingdom of God is found where God is King.
Think of it this way: Jesus said that when He was on earth that the Kingdom of God was drawing near, that God’s perfect rule and reign had come close. What did that look like? It looked like Jesus' perfect devotion to the love of God and the justice of God. Jesus had a perfect balance of both “grace and truth” (John 1:17). He condemned sin and yet brought grace and redemption to the repentant sinner. He sought the outcast and brought them in. He comforted the mourning and brought hope to the hopeless. This is Jesus' example to us of living out God’s perfect rule and reign.
So how does putting off anxiousness, and pursuing the Kingdom of God connect? If you are anxious in life over “what will we eat, what will we drink, what will we wear,” then you have two problems:
1) You don’t have the peace of God's perfect rule and reign in your life.
2) You are too consumed with your anxiousness to be about bringing God’s Kingdom to the rest of the world.
However, when we pursue the Kingdom of God for our lives and the lives of others, we will naturally be putting off anxiousness in our own lives because anxiousness is not part of God’s Kingdom. Furthermore, Jesus makes us a promise: that when we are following the Kingdom of God, we will have food, water, and clothing. He doesn’t promise great wealth, fame, or status, but He does promise things necessary to life so that we may enjoy today as it is.
And this is how He closes His teaching on the Kingdom of God:
“Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
What a life Jesus offers us! One filled with peace and without anxiously wondering what dread tomorrow will bring. No amount of wealth, insurance, or status could ever bring such comfort. So let us ask God to remove our desires for those things that promise so much joy, yet leave us so distraught, and let us hold onto a life that is surrendered to Jesus and pursuing His Kingdom so that we might experience a life well lived.
Being married is one of the most wonderful and challenging adventures that I think we get to experience during this lifetime. We get to share the most intimate parts of our personality, our secrets, our bodies, struggles, our weird senses of humor, our quirks and phobias…and all of these together create a bond that cannot compare to any other human relationship we will ever have. There is so much comfort in having a spouse who gets you. But this isn’t something that just “happens” once you say, “I do.” Marriage takes work. And sometimes, I’ve found, the longer you are married, the more work the “knowing each other” can be.
There is a comfortableness that assumes you may already have told all your stories, shared your deepest fears and joys, and maybe you’ve simply run out of new things to say. But our entire lives are meant to be spent learning and growing and loving each other deeper than before. Daniel and I have made a habit of asking one another some of these questions from time to time just for the sake of learning something new about the other person, and let me tell you, there are still surprises. :) We are far from perfect, but we have begun to understand the value in becoming reacquainted with the person we married. We married very young, and many of our answers to these questions have changed over time. Maybe yours will too.
Knowing that God created marriage, it makes sense that He wants to continue to grow and shape us into His image throughout our married life, regardless of which stage you may find yourself in. The more we are able to experience of each other, the more we seem to find new levels of intimacy and unity that we didn’t even know was there waiting for us. And the more beautiful the work of Jesus becomes as you see your spouse through His eyes. Just like newlyweds believe nothing can top the euphoria of new romance and passion, we find deeper intimacies waiting for us at each new bend in the road. So, take some time to ask your spouse these questions and to answer some yourself. Even if you think you know the answers, listen.
1. Name one thing I do that makes you feel loved.
2. What could I do to cause you to feel more loved?
3. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel respected/honored.
4. What could I do to cause you to feel more respected/honored?
5. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel understood.
6. What could I do to cause you to feel more understood?
7. Name one thing I do that causes you to feel secure.
8. What could I do to cause you to feel more secure?
9. Name one way I serve you that brings you great joy.
10. Are there specific ways that I can serve that I am not already doing?
11. What attribute would you most like me to develop?
12. Name one attribute (or mannerism or idiosyncrasy) that you most like me to change?
13. What attribute would you like me to help you develop in yourself?
14. What achievement in my life would bring you the greatest joy?
15. What mutual goal would you like us to accomplish?
16. How is our sex life?
17. Is there anything I can do to make our sex life better?
18. How are we doing with our family budgeting and finances?
19. What is one thing we can do to improve our budgeting and finances?
20. Name one personal goal for your life that I can help you achieve this year.
21. Name something new we might do together that would bring joy to our marriage/family?
22. How are our relationships with our extended family (parents, siblings, etc.)? Name one thing I can do to improve one of these family relationships.
23. Name one way that God has blessed our marriage.
24. Name one way that we could make our marriage more Christ-like.
25. Name one sin that you continue to struggle with.
26. What could I do to help you with this struggle?
27. Name one sin you see that I continue to struggle with.
28. What would you encourage me to do to deal with struggle?
29. Is there some way that you can help me with this struggle?
30. What would indicate to you that I really desire to be more Christ-like?
31. How has your love for God grown?
32. How is your devotional time going? (Specifically Scripture study & prayer)
33. Is there another spiritual discipline that you would like to develop? (fasting, " scripture memorization, etc.)
34. What can I do to help your love for God grow?
35. Name one thing about our church that brings you great joy.
36. Name one thing that would increase your joy in church?
37. In ten years where do you hope to be spiritually?
38. In ten years where do you think I should be spiritually?
39. Name one way that my leadership/submission has strengthened our marriage. What could I do to lead/submit better in our marriage?
40. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our marriage? What would make our marriage a ten?
There is so much unknown right now. And in a sense, the unknown has always been there…is always there. Because really, how can we foresee tomorrow?
But right now it’s the scary unknown…
Right now it’s the unknown where any seemingly good outcomes are quickly looking less likely.
Right now it’s the unknown where you begin to question everything you’ve known and believed.
Right now it’s the unknown where you realize that faith isn’t a word and instead is simply hard.
And right now the days are pressing close together and adding up quickly without anything coming to light.
When the unknowns start to permeate every corner of your heart and life, the lines between truth and lie can become blurred with the tears and the fears.
So today I’m making a list of what I know is true and holding tight to those things when everything else seems to be falling. Because when your life is filled with unknowns and unanswered questions you have to hold fast to what you know for sure.
I know for sure that He has all authority in heaven and on earth.
I know for sure that He has a plan and that plan is good and that plan is for His glory and His glory alone.
I know for sure that He is wholly righteous and just in His actions.
I know for sure that this world is broken and fallen and evil and that I am broken and fallen and evil apart from the precious blood of Jesus.
I know for sure that He has rescued me from my brokenness.
I know for sure that through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross I am restored to a place of fellowship with God.
I know for sure that when God looks at me He sees the glorious righteousness of Jesus covering me.
…and I know for sure that in Jesus I am a beloved child of the King.
I know for sure that I am not promised and easy life, but I am promised that God will be with me in the midst of life.
I know for sure that there is nothing on this earth that can harm me beyond what God allows for His glorious purposes.
I know for sure that I am not the main part of God’s plan for my life, but that His glory is the main part of His plan for my life.
I know for sure that He will be faithful to complete the work He has begun in my life for His glory.
I know for sure that this life is short and that it is not my final destination.
…and I know for sure that my position in heaven is secure.
I know for sure that this life is a war and I am called to fight.
I know for sure that I have the power of God living inside of me, equipping me for every battle and every good work He has called me to.
I know for sure that I will make mistakes but that there is a never-ending supply of grace waiting for me when I turn to Jesus.
…and I know for sure that He has empowered me, is empowering me, and will empower me to do all that He has called me to do for His glory.
I know for sure that God’s grace is glorious.
I know for sure that my home is in heaven.
I know for sure that my identity is in Jesus.
I know for sure that my calling is to bring Him glory.
I know for sure that God is on the throne, that He is good, and that He loves me. And I’m clinging hard and fast to these truths on the days when I just don’t know…because these things I know for sure.
Be blessed,
Alesha
The air conditioning was broken at the Veterans Park Community Center we rent for church, and after a sticky, sweaty hour and a half service at the beginning of July, we relocated to a living room for the next three weeks while the air conditioning was being fixed.
And while we’re excited to be back in our normal brown folding chairs this coming Sunday, August 2nd, it was such a sweet time of worship the past three weeks. About twenty five of us packed into the living room and kitchen to sit on an odd assortment couches, patio furniture, kitchen chairs, and bar stools in order to worship and pray together and to hear the Word of God taught.
What a special time those services were, in all their simplicity! And our hearts might have been tempted to say, "Isn't this better? Just the "core group" worshiping together in a more intimate space..."
But Pastor Daniel reminded us over and over that we aren't called to simply worship and be fed for ourselves. We have a mission from God in our city. And while the times of pulling back and refreshing ourselves in God are important, the weekly and daily presence we have in our city through our regular service times and regular lives lived out are essential too.
Church planting isn't just about being fed and gathering intimately and worshiping privately.
Church planting is...
...serving.
...giving.
...opening wide.
...reaching out.
...being consistent.
...living love out to those around you.
And while our little group of twenty-five might seem like it's too small to make a real impact, it's really not. Because even one person living their life open and reaching out in love can make a world of difference.
So each Sunday we are called to meet in the little community center by the Intercostal. We are called to sit on those familiar chairs and to put out the same signs and to preach the Word of God every single week, so that people know that we will be there when they need us…when they need to meet with Jesus.
And each week, we're called to go about our lives in a way that's seeking opportunities to serve and give and even speak the love of Jesus that has set us free, so that people will know that we will be there when they need us.
Church planting takes consistency.
Sacrificial consistency.
Loving consistency.
Open armed consistency.
May we find the strength in Jesus to be consistent in loving and serving and being where He has called us to be.
Matthew 6 is a chapter FULL of assumptions. By assumptions, I mean that when Jesus is teaching, He is not saying that giving, praying, fasting, spending, and living are optional. Far from it! He is assuming that you will do all of these things, and then He tells you how to do them well.
The fourth of these assumptions is found in verses 19-24.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[e] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
In these few verses Jesus reveals one of our greatest threats to having God be the Lord of our life: the love of money. It’s in this section that Jesus reminds us that money is to be used, not worshiped.
We love money for a variety of reasons. Some people like the security it brings, others, the pleasure, status symbol, or other benefits it promises. However, Jesus reminds us in the very beginning: it won’t last.
Jesus gives us a sober reminder that thieves and time destroy all wealth. Even today we see people laying down thousands in order to insure that their wealth is protected. Yet even with physical protection, Jesus reminds us that one day we will die and our money will no longer be ours.
After pointing out our desperate situation in regards to our relationship with money, Jesus takes it a step further. He says that not only is your physical relationship to wealth eventually going to deteriorate, but that having your eyes focused on anything other than God will only bring darkness into our lives. He tells us that where we place our desires will be reflected in the rest of our lives and heart. If we place our hearts (our “eyes”, as He says) on money rather than God, then our lives will reflect that darkness rather than God’s light.
As dismal as our situation can appear with Jesus’ harsh reminder of our situation, He brings us hope. He tells us that there is another way. Jesus says in verse 24 that “No one can serve two masters”, and later He rephrases it as “You cannot serve God and money.” In this statement He’s bringing us another option. He’s giving us the choice to repent of our past ways, to repent of our love of money, security, status, pride, etc - and to turn to God as our Master instead.
He alludes to this earlier when He encourages His listeners to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (verse 20). What a hope that we are not constrained to the ongoing problem of accumulating wealth on earth, only to live in constant fear of it being lost, and then to have it all be taken away at our death. Jesus gives us a new story to live by, one where God is our Master, not money. This story may involve riches on earth, but it may not. Regardlessly, God is our goal, our treasure, and our reward, not money.
The first step would be to consider what Jesus has to say about giving. If you haven’t already, go read Part 1 in this series which talks about this subject. After learning more about what Jesus has for us in this area, obey Him in it.
The second step would be to continue to learn more about the character of God and pray that He would put that same Spirit and character into your life. Remember that money is not the only problem we have. Jesus said that "no one can serve TWO masters.” This includes money, however, it also includes the rest of life. So as you continue to learn more about God and become more sensitive to His Spirit and leading, follow Him. When you believe He wants you to give more than what is standard, do so. When you believe He wants you to serve others, talk to a stranger, give someone a ride, get a new job, or anything else - go do it.
In summary, make Jesus be your Lord in every area of your life and in doing so you’ll be storing up treasures in heaven.
